Frankenthal, Germany—Located on the outskirts of Mannheim, GLEIS4 Frankenthal has become a mainstay in southwest German nightlife, welcoming the 15,000 guests that come out to catch some of the 150-plus events held there annually. The 200-capacity venue typically hosts everything from rock concerts to poetry slams, and gigs are already on the books for when the venue reopens in October, when it will serve up disco, metal, flamenco and more.
The pandemic has hurt venues worldwide, and GLEIS4 is no exception, but looking to make the most of a bad situation, the venue began streaming events in various formats, allowing it to reach out and provide a program of cultural content to an audience stuck at home. Those offerings ranged from streaming live music to conferences to seminars, but all those presentations required technological capabilities that GLEIS4’s aging digital FOH desk couldn’t handle. As a result, the venue opted to use funds from the federal government’s Neustart Kultur program to purchase an Allen & Heath dLive system, based around a C3500 Surface and a CDM48 Mixrack.
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There were more changes on-hand than merely technical, however. The new streaming gear needed a home, so the venue’s dressing rooms quickly became a control room, housing the 24-fader C3500 Surface and a pair of KS Digital studio monitors, while onstage, the CDM48’s 48 inputs and 24 outputs handled analog I/O for performances. When in-person shows resume in October, the C3500 will be moved to the main room and used as the FOH system for live events.
“We currently use the dLive system for streaming live music, conferences and seminars, among other things,” explains Philipp Hahn, GLEIS4’s technical manager, “but we also plan to use it as an FOH console for our city festival stage, should that take place, depending on the pandemic situation.”
Allen & Heath • www.allen-heath.com
